GE Renewable Energy unveils its largest onshore wind turbine

GE Renewable Energy has unveiled the new 4.8–158 onshore wind turbine. According to the company, it is GE's largest high efficiency turbine to date. Featuring the largest rotor in the segment and innovative blade design, the 4.8-158 is designed to offer a significant improvement in Annual Energy Production (AEP) at low to medium wind speed sites.

Pete McCabe, President & CEO of GE's Onshore Wind Business said, "The 4.8–158 design is an important next step in turbine technology and efficiency, and we're excited to introduce this turbine at this moment in time. It is well suited for low to medium wind speed regions worldwide—examples include Germany, Turkey and Australia—as well as for mechanisms like auctions, as countries around the world are putting an increased emphasis on lowering the cost of energy."

The new 4.8MW wind turbine is equipped with a 158 meter rotor and a range of tip heights up to 240 meters. The combination of a larger rotor and tall towers enables the turbine to take advantage of higher wind speeds and produce more energy. GE's latest turbine features high tech blades, improved loads and controls, and taller, more cost-effective towers. These new innovative features have been developed thanks to close partnerships with LM Wind Power, Blade Dynamics and GE's Global Research Center.

The 77-meter-long carbon blades leverage the strong track record and material innovations of LM Wind Power, and are their longest onshore blades to date. These carbon blades will enable flexibility, allowing GE to offer its customers a high efficiency product while continuing to drive down LCOE. The blades also feature one of the industry's smallest Bolt Circle Diameters. "This turbine is a great example of what we can achieve through the GE Store, combining technology and development with innovative design and expertise from the Global Research Center, LM Wind Power and Blade Dynamics," continued Pete McCabe. "We collected input from more than 30 customers around the world to ensure we are meeting their specific turbine needs with this product as they work to provide lower-cost renewable energy."

The 4.8-158 leverages the best of GE's 2MW and 3MW platforms, including the proven DFIG–doubly-fed induction generator—and a robust drivetrain architecture. The turbine meets a lower standard of noise emission levels, achieving a 104-dB level during normal operations. The newly-designed machine head reduces the needs for a larger crane while facilitating up-tower repairs and troubleshooting with its up-tower electrical system.

Following the acquisition of Ria Blades, Siemens Gamesa has completed the purchase of selected assets from Senvion announced in October 2019. The acquisition of Onshore Service assets and IP was concluded in January 2020.

Renewables covered around 52 percent of gross power consumed in Germany during the first quarter of 2020. This all-time high was driven by a combination of one-off events. Preliminary calculations by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the German Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW) yielded this figure. February’s record winds were followed by an unusually sunny March. Power consumption was also down by one percent from the same period last year.